Only as Friends
by Unattainable Illusion
Summary: Before graduation, Mandark decides to fit in for once at his high school so he wants to go to senior prom. Dexter agrees to go with him only as a friend. However, things turn out differently towards the end of prom. Mandark and Dexter slash! One shot.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own "Dexter's Laboratory" nor the characters from the series or anything else that pertains to it. However, Genndy Tartakovsky does.

The Last Class of the Day:

High schools from across the country are full to bursting with conversations upon conversations from senior classes concerning prom. The same is happening at Susan "Mandark" Astronomonov's high school; unfortunately for him.

The last class of the day is over and students are impatiently waiting for the bell to ring. Mandark had to put up with listening to his peers babble on and on about prom this and prom that. Well, the only other person aside from him not chattering about the upcoming event is his best and only friend, Dexter.

Mandark and Dexter use to be rivals but as the years flew by, they became very good friends on account of having to cooperate with one another for various reasons but their intelligences had remained on an equal level. Of course, there are times when they knock sparks off of each other. They are opposites anyways since Dexter's intentions are bathed in light while Mandark's are bathed in darkness.

"Once again I have to listen to these imbeciles with average IQ's, a.k.a. my classmates prattle on about senior prom. Pah! They act like it's the greatest thing that will happen to them this year when graduation is the true highlight of the year. After high school is college and then! Hm, and then I might try my hand at world domination or something simple like that," Mandark thought to himself and laughed his trademark laugh that his classmates were use to hearing on random occasions.

After his laughter died down, he rested the left side of his face against the palm of one hand while he planted his elbow down on his desk. He sighed and glanced a few desks over to his right, keeping his eyes momentarily locked on Dexter. The red head was currently absorbed with a text book but he felt Mandark's eyes on him and lowered the book. He gave the other a sympathetic smile, understanding the pain of going through another class with chatterbox classmates talking about the same thing. That simple gesture sent butterflies flying in a frenzy in Mandark's stomach.

Mandark knew that he had a crush on Dexter. Being around the guy for many years he naturally developed feelings for him but whenever he would begin to think about the other in a romantic way, he would stop himself abruptly. "I am a scientist; I am not going to try to analyze something like love," he would always tell himself.

He returned his attention to the front of the classroom after that embarrassing moment and thought to himself while a paper airplane barely missed his head, "Hm, perhaps it would be kind of nice to attend something like the senior prom. Might as well try to fit in for once before graduation; alas, it would be humiliating to go by myself."

Yes, he could always rack up any courage that he had and ask one of his attractive female classmates to go with him but he knew that if one miraculously would, it would be because she felt sorry for him. He saw that happen before. In fact, the only reason why Douglas had a date to the prom was because of that. Mandark had too much pride to let that happen to himself.

Once again he stole a glance at Dexter. "It's not uncommon to go with friends but Dexter being as smart as he is, he would most likely become suspicious of me if I were to ask him to go with me," he thought and averted his gaze before Dexter caught him staring at him again.

He drummed his fingers against his desk and continued thinking to himself. "Just because I like him does not mean he likes me. Then again, maybe he will not become suspicious of me if I do ask him! It's not like my feelings for him are obvious. Hm, but just to play it safe, I will ask Dee Dee if she knows if Dexter is going to prom." Once again he laughed manically out of pride for his intelligence.

The bell finally rang and Mandark and Dexter's peers stampeded out of the classroom. They could never understand why their classmates would always rush out of their last class as if the school building was on fire. It's as though they do not enjoy school, something Mandark and Dexter both did not comprehend.

The Next Day:

Dee Dee walked about the hallways, taking her time to make it to her locker and her first class of the day. She had a bit of a dance to her step; something she developed through years of ballet. She would always catch herself walking on the tips of her toes but she learned to not let it bother her. She liked the fact that it gave her an elegant air.

She passed by a storage closest and did not expect at all to be forcefully dragged into it. After she stopped causing a fuss for her captor, she composed herself and stared angrily at the only other person in the storage closest.

"Well, what do you want, Mandork?" Dee Dee asked in a seething tone, hands on hips.

Mandark ignored the nickname that was meant to be insulting and answered the blonde's question, "I have something very important to ask you."

"No Mandark, I will not play _Seven Minutes in Heaven_ with you," Dee Dee casually replied.

It took a few seconds for Mandark's brain to register what the other had said but once it did, his face went red. "No, no! Not that! Something else!" he hurriedly exclaimed, waving his arms about frantically.

Dee Dee folded her arms across her chest and asked impatiently, "You couldn't just ask me whatever is important you know…like, outside in the hallway and not inside a janitor's broom closest like some wacko?"

Mandark cleared his throat and straightened his tie. "Well, since we're already here I might as well ask you in said janitor's broom closest," he said in a scientific-like way.

Dee Dee rolled her eyes and simply replied, "Whatever."

Mandark adjusted his glasses and moved on, "Will Dexter be attending prom?"

Dee Dee stared at Mandark with unblinking eyes for awhile until she started laughing uncontrollably.

After she got that out of her system, she asked the other in a gentle tone, "Are you serious?"

"I am."

Dee Dee pretended to think about his question even though she already knew the obvious answer. She beckoned Mandark to come closer to her with a finger and he did, thinking that she had something very important to tell him. He waited patiently for her to say something, straining his ears so he would not miss a single word.

When Dee Dee felt like she milked the moment enough, she placed her lips a few inches away from Mandark's ear as though she was going to whisper something to him and shouted, "Of course not!"

Mandark furrowed his brow in annoyance and mumbled, "I see."

Dee Dee stretched her long and lanky arms and yawned loudly. "I am surprised actually," she commented.

Mandark raised a dark brow. "Why?" he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders and explained, "Well, I just thought you were going to ask me to be your date to the prom is all."

Mandark's eyes lit up and he questioned to her brightly, "Will you?"

Dee Dee giggled, "Of course not. I already have a date."

Mandark's shoulders slumped while Dee Dee danced out from the janitor's closest to leave the other alone with his own wacko ways. Just as soon as the door was closed by Dee Dee, it was soon opened by a weary looking middle-aged man.

"Could you please bring me over that mop and bucket? Someone couldn't keep their breakfast stomached in one of the hallways," the janitor explained to Mandark casually.

Mandark did as he was asked, too depressed to question the situation and was once again left to himself until the janitor quickly opened the door to make sure that he did imagine a young man skulking about in the storage room. Satisfied that he was not going insane, the janitor departed from the storage room while whistling a jaunty tune.

After School:

Really not all encouraged by the conversation he had with Dee Dee, Mandark hesitantly made his way to Dexter's house after school. After being welcomed in by Dexter's mother, Mandark ventured up the stairs and into the others' bedroom. He accessed the book shelf entrance to his lab; having done so in the past many times before.

Once inside, he looked around for Dexter and after a moment's search; he found him studying a bright colored chemical through a beaker.

"He looks so…uh, doesn't he know that if he mixes that chemical with the one he has in his other hand that…oh, I am sure he knows," Mandark pondered to himself and approached Dexter.

"Oh, hi there, Mandark," Dexter said while his concentration was directed towards his chemical mixing.

"Okay, you can do this. Just act cool and calm," Mandark reminded himself but Mandark being Mandark, things didn't always work out as he had envisioned them to.

"Will you go to prom with me?" he shouted and quickly clamped his hands over his treacherous mouth.

Dexter raised a brow and placed the beakers down gently on his desk then turned to face Mandark. "Well, originally I was not planning on going but sure, I suppose it could be fun to go with a friend," he answered.

No words came from Mandark's mouth and Dexter grew slightly worried. "Hey! Mandark, you okay?" he asked the other and snapped his fingers.

Mandark returned to reality after mulling over the word "friend" in his mind. "Peachy!" he exclaimed and fled from the lab, tripping over nothing in particular in his haste.

Once again alone in his laboratory, Dexter sighed. "It's difficult for even me, a genius to understand why I like someone like him," he mumbled and retrieved the two beakers full of chemicals and poured the brightly colored chemical into the beaker of the other chemical. BOOM!

"Dee Dee!" Dexter howled, remembering how Dee Dee had previously been at his side before Mandark arrived, messing with his chemicals.

Night of the Prom:

Weeks had gone by and the night of the senior prom had arrived. Since Mandark only lived a few minutes away from Dexter, he walked over to his house instead of driving over there...then again, he did not drive because he is aware of how big a kltuz he is. Also, he knew Dexter would never stop pestering him about getting into a car accident if he were to. There was also the fact that he would not be caught dead driving his parents' hippie vehicle.

Once at the front door of Dexter and Dee Dee's house, Mandark took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. "I do not know why I am so nervous. We are only going as friends," Mandark reminded himself while waiting for the door to be answered.

"Oh hey, Mandark. Nice tuxedo, you look sharp," Dexter commented after opening the door and he stood aside for the other to enter.

"Oh thanks...you look..." Sure, there were a lot of adjectives he could use but he deemed them inappropriate.

Dexter arched a brow while Mandark pondered deeply and he finally managed to come up with something. "You look very well groomed, Dexter," he complimented lamely.

Eyebrow remaining arched, Dexter replied in a confused tone, "Uh...thanks."

Mandark entered the others' house while he thought to himself, "We're not even at prom yet and I am already making a fool out of myself."

"Say cheese!" Dexter's mother cheered brightly while taking a picture of Mandark and Dexter out of the blue.

"My eyes!" they exclaimed in unison and took off their glasses to rub at their eyes.

"Mother, it is generally a tradition for parental units to take prom pictures only of a couple consisting of opposite genders," Dexter explained while holding up a finger, still seeing stars in his vision.

"Oh Dexey, tradition smadition! Get with the times!" Mom replied while her son placed his glasses back on.

"Your mother's right, son. Don't be such a party pooper. By the way, I am surprised no girls were lining up to ask you two studs out to prom," Dexter's father said with a wink.

Through with being embarrassed by his parents, Dexter growled, "Okay, enough talking. Let's go Mandark."

"Wait, we need more pictures!" Mom exclaimed and started snapping the camera at the two boys in a hysteric manner.

"Good-bye!" Dexter shouted and took Mandark's hand and ran out of his house, dragging the other along with him.

Once outside, Dexter let go of Mandark's hand and apologized to him, "Sorry about that. I thought my mother would have been tired of taking pictures since she took hundreds of Dee Dee and her prom date."

"No worries," Mandark simply replied while being in a bit of a daze after having had his hand held by his crush...even though it was not in a romantic manner.

While the two walked over to Dad's car, Mandark wondered who Dee Dee had went with to prom. "Feh, probably someone undeserving of her," he thought bitterly. Even though his feelings are for Dexter, he can still appreciate how beautiful and goddess like his older sister is.

At Prom:

The regular seniors were doing regular old prom things while Mandark and Dexter simply played chess using a traveled size magnetic chess board and pieces at a table together. Taking a break from dancing with her friends and prom date, Dee Dee walked over to the genii.

"Gosh you guys, it's prom. Dance or something," she tutted while pouring herself some punch.

"No," they answered the blond at the same time, paying more attention to their game than to her.

"Well, you can't blame a girl for trying," she said with a sigh and returned to the dance floor after drinking her punch.

It was Dexter's turn but he stopped in mid move and looked up at Mandark through his thick glasses. "Do you want to dance?" he asked casually.

"Are you offering?" Mandark questioned in a befuddled voice.

Dexter felt his face heating up. "No, I was simply asking you a question," he replied testily and his tone earned him a smirk from the other.

Mandark looked over a shoulder, seeing his peers dancing together...some with very vulgar movements.

"No, I do not want to. Besides, I am pretty clumsy. I even manage to trip over air on occasion," he explained.

Dexter couldn't resist a chuckle. "What's so funny?" Mandark barked, slamming his hands against the top of the table and causing plastic cups full of various liquids to go toppling over and their contents spilling onto the table.

"This entire situation is funny," Dexter answered, raising up an arm before some grape punch could stain his sleeve.

Mandark leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, "Explain."

"Well, I should have known this would happen. Us two going to prom and doing nothing that has to deal with it. Instead all we do is play magnetic chess," he explained and chuckled again.

Mandark did not see the humor in Dexter's explanation but his sour attitude left him when he watched the other smile out of amusement.

Prom was nearing to an end. Mandark and Dexter spent their last minutes at prom cleaning up the spilled drinks that Mandark's temper had caused to create. It was also spent with Mandark raving on about how Dexter had won their last chess match of the night because he apparently cheated. His accusation did not phase Dexter the slightest since he was use to be called a cheater by him.

After Prom:

Prom was over and Dexter drove from Mandark's and his high school to the Astronomonov house, borrowing Dad's car. He was grateful that he hit a bit of growth spurt in middle school or else he would not be able to drive like a person of normal height. The two were silent during the drive but that is not surprising since they were generally very quiet people. Although, the silence felt awkward to Mandark so he wanted to break it...if only for a few seconds. What to say though? Hopefully not something completely idiotic again.

"I really thought some girl would have asked you to be their prom date. I mean...you are very intelligent and saying this as a friend, I think your are quite attractive," he said to Dexter in a thankfully normal Mandark tone of voice.

Dexter took his eyes off of the road for a quick second to steal a glance at Mandark and smiled shyly. "That's a very nice thing to say and something I can say about you as well," he replied. He returned his attention to the road, fortunately for Mandark or else he would have seen his face adorned with a blush.

"Of course, only as a friend," Mandark thought with a small sigh.

Once at the Astronomonov house, Mandark removed a corsage from his wrist which Dexter thought his parents had gave to him to wear...those two being hippies and so he did not question why the other had been wearing it.

"I know it is a tradition for a guy to give a girl a corsage before prom but I thought it would be nice to remember that we genii went to prom without dates and had fun," Mandark explained and leaned over to Dexter and put the corsage on one of his wrists while the red head blushed during the action.

He gently brushed his fingers across the petals while Mandark was about to unbuckle his seat belt and leave Dad's car but Dexter stopped him by placing a hand on one of his arms.

"Wait, I have something for you too. It's not a corsage but..." he said.

Mandark removed his attention from his seat belt and back to Dexter, "Yeah, what is it?"

Dexter scooted over to Mandark, as much as his seatbelt would allow and placed his lips against his. It was a soft and gentle kiss but not quick so the moment was enjoyed by the two of them. His shyness getting the best of him, Dexter pulled away and Mandark opened the car door.

"Hey, I cannot get out! Something is holding me back! Is this a trap?" he exclaimed, struggling against his seat belt.

Dexter realized that the kiss must have caused Mandark's brain to malfunction or something. "Ahem, you need to unbuckle your seat belt, Mandark," he explained smugly.

"I knew that! Stop acting like you know everything!" Mandark hissed and resealed himself from the seat belt.

"I kind of do know everything," Dexter thought to himself in a matter of fact kind of way.

Mandark opened the car door and slipped out, whacking his head against the top of the door's roofing as he did so. Dexter slapped a hand across his forehead.

After cursing, Mandark poked his head into Dad's car cautiously. "Erm...well, good-night Dexter," he said gently.

Dexter smiled, "Good-night Mandark...and good health."

Mandark shut the car door and watched while Dexter drove off to his own house.

"I suppose I did have a date for the prom then," he whispered.

"Argh, and I will also have a nice bump in the morning," he moaned and rubbed his head vigorously where he had hit it.

END

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, this is suppose to be a one shot but I guess it is too long to be considered one...not exactly sure though. .

Hehe, there are no chapters though! D: Just dividers to organize how the events flowed. ^^

Yeah, I am sure there are some out of character moments but that should be because well...the characters are much older in this work so yeah...of course there will be changes in personality.

Hm, there are probably some tense mistakes...I tried to fix them all though but I am sure I missed a few. =)

I also tried to keep it humorous at some parts since I love the humor the show has! ^^


End file.
